In the food industry, it is desirable to use in food products and fast foods freshly harvested tomato components for flavor, color and texture. The commercial use of freshly harvested tomato components, however, can be impractical since they are subject to rapid biodegradation and putrefaction. In the past to avoid such spoilage, freshly harvested tomato components have been quickly processed into conventional tomato solids such as tomato paste, tomato juice, tomato sauce, tomato puree, and the like. The quick processing of freshly harvested tomatoes has aimed to make practical the commercial use of tomato components in food products and fast foods. In accomplishing the above, processors have attempted to provide a tomato product that can be stored for subsequent use without experiencing spoilage or serious deterioration. Unfortunately, most such attempts have been directed to providing storable concentrated tomato products that require additional processing steps following storage to obtain desired ready-to-use tomato end products.
Heretofore, tomato paste, tomato juice, tomato sauce, or tomato puree have been combined with fillers to formulate an edible simulated tomato product that can be stored. Such natural pulpy tomato solids are used to impart the characteristic tomato flavors and colors. The fillers on the other hand impart body, artificial texture and stability. One such example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,338, has involved a product consisting of tomato paste, tomato puree and starch combined with an edible fat or oil not to exceed a maximum proportion of 10% oil by weight of the mixture. Another product, as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,862, has disclosed a product which incorporates tomato juice and tomato paste with an admixture of starch, de-oiled meal, and animal protein. Unfortunately, the fillers incorporated therein fail to impart a natural grainy, pulpy texture to the simulated tomato product. Still another product, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,770, which primarily is designed to impart artificially a grainy, pulpy, texture to the resulting simulated tomato product, involves the incorporation of a pregelatinized starch therein. In this case, the technique requires the pregelatinized starch to be combined with sufficient amounts of water and thereafter heated to impart the grainy, pulpy texture. However, the grainy, pulpy texture is incurred artificially due to the swelling characteristics of the pregelatinized starch. Further, copious amounts of water needed may detract from the color and taste of the simulated tomato product.
In addition, a method for processing and storing freshly harvested tomatoes has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,753. In this case, a fresh crushed tomato product is sterilized, acidified and stored in bulk over a long period of time without spoiling or seriously deteriorating. Nevertheless, additional processing steps are required following storage of said crushed tomato products to formulate desired ready-to-use tomato end products.
It is apparent from the above brief overview of tomato products that there are commercial needs to provide tomato products that closely resemble natural tomatoes, which are prepared into ready-to-use tomato end products in advance and can be stored for subsequent on demand use without experiencing any serious bacterial contamination or deterioration.